ON

REVIEW:

nickel on Buffy the Vampire Slayer...

nickel was there, but only showed 3/4 it's splendor... If you noticed, only 3 members of the band were shown... Mr. Hite didn't get any screen time, except for his left arm, and he should have. You can hear the keyboard playin'... As a keyboard player myself, I am not amused by this oversight.
If you're gonna show a band, show the entire band.

The evil music overdubbing the tune STUPID THING
could've been a little less pronounced. As one who's done re-recording, I think they
should've left the band at least audible the entire time... Somehow I think someone
wasn't paying enough attention to the soundtrack when the fader slid down to zero. They should have also used a cross fade under the evil music, which would've helped the evil music even more.

Too much fader movement during
the second half of the scene... Don't get me wrong.. I love the TV show, and think the
writing isn't half bad, and the production is good too... but this time, it looks like
somebody did a STUPID THING. Perhaps, one day, before it goes to video (as I'm sure
it's destined to at some point), this episode will have the sound re-edited. (I do know
why it was done--they only wanted certain parts of the song--still the way it was done was
awkward).

Still, from what could be heard and seen, I think NICKEL presented themselves well...

As they say, "That's showbiz."

Video Screenshots:

Click on the pictures for larger versions.

Here's the band, in
3/4 glory. You can only see part of Tom Hite here. The production team shows the
band so you know they're playing. The infamous "establishing shot."
Since only Tom's shoulder got TV time, I will blast his info. to your screen.

Tom Hite joined in
as NICKEL's keyboardist. He plays a variety of instruments like the cello, piano
(yes, a real one), keyboards, and guitar. Tom is really talented, and is a perfect
example of how the "show must go on..."

When NICKEL played at Union Station, in Los
Angeles, the keyboard's stand gave way in the middle of the set. Some may envision
the typical keyboard dropping onto the stage and being destroyed beyond repair, but
instead, Tom grabbed the keyboard and held it through the rest of the song, playing all
the while. If you weren't watching when the keyboard fell, you'd have never
known... the rest of the band didn't even know... Now
THAT is MUSICIANSHIP.

Thus, ends my tribute to the guy who didn't get what
he deserved onscreen...

More in the continuing
line of establishing shots, and the beginning of the song STUPID THING.

STUPID THING
follows another one of NICKEL's songs, 1000
Nights.

Apart from some previous complaints I made with the
re-recording of the show (and it doesn't happen in every show--usually it's pretty good),
I think the recording engineers did a good job with bringing up the bass and adding reverb
to the recording. As incorrectly reported before, I found out the CD recording was
actually used for the show--the band didn't record a new version there.

If there's ever a Buffy CD, I hope
they put this recording on it, with the little changes they made (after all I've already
got the original on the Nickel CD).

This is from a little
further into the song. You can see some posters on the wall in back of Tom.
It's also what the CD cover looks like, but you knew that when you looked at the CD cover,
right?

Tom McDermott is the lead singer/songwriter of the band. He's
also written some good compositions for both chamber and orchestral ensembles (as a
composer I get into this kind of stuff).

Tom doesn't only play electric guitar, he also
plays classical guitar. I know there are a lot of self-educated musicians out there,
but somehow I find I like those who have actually been trained in music. It's a
difference one can hear when listening to the music. If ya can't tell.. then I guess
ya have to be grouped among the masses... you'll only know what you like or hate...

A shot of the rhythm
section--these guys are responsible for the groovy part of NICKEL.

Bob Schmidt is the
bassist, sings some of the lead vocals, and shares some of the songwriting duties with Tom
McDermott. His song, Truck seems to
be popular amongst many of the NICKEL fans.

Mike McLaughlin fills in the sound (bad pun intended) with the percussion.